Wedding DJ Blog

One thing we are often asked by our clients is “How much do I tip my wedding vendors?” Or, in our industry, “Should I tip my wedding DJ?” With wedding season upon us, here’s what we think.

There is no right or wrong answer here, but there are some general rules of etiquette and popular ideals about tipping wedding vendors. I found some blogs and websites that write on this subject and handle it very well. Find their links at the bottom of this post.

From personal experience:

It feels great to be tipped, no matter the amount, as a show of appreciation for the hard work and dedication that we gave to an event. A card is also a nice gesture, but when something comes along with that card, we feel like the client really understood how much goes into what we do.

It is also not uncommon for a client to send a card in the mail, after the wedding has passed. We’ve gotten them weeks and even months later without ever expecting them, what a nice surprise! Truthfully, if your DJ does an excellent job, you’ll know it because you and your guests will have danced your legs off and everyone will be elated. If the event runs smoothly, it’s generally because the DJ kept things running that way. In that case, a thank you card, a tip, or a host of referrals is so greatly appreciated.

And finally, how much should you tip? Well, it’s safe to say that if you plan on tipping, you shouldn’t tip one single person less than $25.00 and it’s very rare to see anything over $100.00 per person. I have had a $400.00 tip once in my career, and I was stunned, but it was a very special circumstance and the client was given a low price contract for services to begin with.

We believe tipping should always be at the client’s discretion and we believe that is the most common practice among Los Angeles DJs. I never work for a tip, nor do any of our DJs or Entertainers. We know our clients are paying us well and expecting the best from us, and we are always committed to delivering that level of service.

This past weekend I received a very generous tip from my clients. These were clients who asked for my professional help on a dire matter only 2 days before their wedding. The matter had nothing to do with my services, nor was it in my contract to help these clients with this matter. However, when I offered my help, I simply did what I would expect any DJ or Entertainment service to do when called upon for help. I helped my client. But my efforts apparently did not go unnoticed and my clients were very kind to me in return. This is something that many clients do and we are always greatly appreciative. We also understand that many clients do not have tips in their budget, or do not feel it is necessary to tip on top of the contract price for services provided. We want our clients to feel comfortable in knowing that we work as hard as we can night after night to give a unique and great service to them without regard for gratuity.

I think it is important for our clients to know that all tips or gratuity given to the DJ goes directly to the DJ. If there is an assistant to the DJ at your event, the tip will be split accordingly. The company has no interest in the gratuity given to a DJ, performer, technician or entertainer.

For a more detailed approach to tipping Wedding Vendors see this website:

Very Very nicely done. I may take some of your statements to enter into our blog up here In Pa. Thank you and keep up the good work of making your clients day memorable. I can tell you get it. It is never about working for the tip. Well put!

November 26, 2012 at 12:17 pm • Posted by Mark Whitted

The average according to tipping.org is between 10% and 15% of the total bill! I personally don’t care how much they tip me However, I hate when you work extremely hard at an event and they either tip below the standard or not at all??? Some people though haven’t done their homework and probably don’t know that they are suppose to tip??? I can understand if the DJ does a really bad job not giving them anything at all!!! There are a lot of people that think they’re DJ’s that aren’t! They have 40 to 50 songs and show up at an event with their home stereo and a laptop!!! and only charged $100.00 (You get what you pay for)!!! Be careful!
Djmakerzmark from Jacksonville Florida I’ve been DJing for 26 years and now have added Music Videos just to put some distance between my services and the wannabees that never will be!

February 6, 2013 at 7:16 am • Posted by bella white

wow…
what a great wedding to have a DJ… ^_^
this article is very helpful… 🙂